Restaurant type hot water heater with suspension support and removable front



March 15, 1966 HATCH 3,240,171

RESTAURANT TYPE HOT WATER HEATER WITH SUSPENSION SUPPORT AND REMOVABLE FRONT Filed June 21, 1963 IN VENTOR.

AIM. AMY-m.

United States Patent 3,246,171 RESTAURANT TYPE HOT WATER HEATER WITH SUSPENSION SUPPORT AND REMOV- ABLE FRONT Gordon Hatch, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Hatco Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed June 21, 1963, Ser. No. 289,507 Claims. (Cl. 10850) This invention relates to a restaurant type hot water heater with suspension support and removable front.

The heater comprises a generally conventional tank and heating element in an insulated jacket having laterally projecting flanges at its top. These are engaged with a supporting channel or way which is here provided by welding complementary flanges to the under surface of a dish table or the like. The term dish table refers to a shallow sink used by restaurants to store dirty dishes pending washing.

The arrangement is such that with the heater suspended above floor level its front wall is readily detachable to give access to the electrical controls. For this purpose, the heater casing has upper and lower flanges and the front wall comprises a pan-shaped member, preferably filled with insulation, and designed to provide a slot in which the upper flange of the casing is received, the panshaped member resting on and being detachably connected with the lower flange of the casing. The slot permits ready separation of the upper end of the front wall but only after the lower end has been released and swung outwardly.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing the hot water heater suspended from a restaurant dish table, the heater being shown in perspective and the dish table being broken away.

FIG. 2 is a view partially in front elevation and partially in longitudinal section showing the heater on an enlarged scale and fragmentarily illustrating the dish table.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary detail view taken in section on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

The dish table selected to show the use of the invention comprises a shallow sink 4. Two of the supporting legs 6 are shown.

On the under side of the dish table are welded or otherwise fastened flanges 8 on which the flanges 12 are positioned for the support of the heater jacket 14, to which the angle flanges 12 are fastened by bolts or otherwise. Flanges 8 desirably provide a way along which flanges 12. are slidable to facilitate mounting and dismounting the heater. Within the jacket 14 is a conventional hot water heating tank 16 surrounded by insulation 18 except at the front where the tank has a conventional control housing 20 to which access must be provided.

For this purpose, the front wall 22 of the jacket is made readily removable while, at the same time, its connections are not conspicuous. The front wall 22 has the form of a shallow pan filled with insulation at 24 and disposed to cover the otherwise accessible control casing 20. The heater jacket 14 is provided along its upper margin with a downturned flange 26 and along it slower margin with an upwardly extending flange 28 turned outwardly at 30 to provide a seat upon which the lower margin 32 of the detachable front wall 22 is supported. A couple of sheet metal screws or the like 34 may be employed to releasably connect the lower margin of the front wall 22 with the out-turned flange 30 upon which "ice it is seated. Since these screws are inserted in an upward direction, as clearly appears in FIG. 3, they are very inconspicuous and may be invisible to a person of normal height standing in front of the equipment.

The top margin 36 of the pan-shaped front wall has a downwardly extending flange at 38. A Z-bar 40 welded or otherwise fastened to the interior of the removable front wall 22 serves as a bracket and includes an upwardly extending flange at 42 which is spaced from the flange 33 of the front wall to provide a narrow slot in which the flange 26 of the jacket is disposed. The spaced flanges 38 and 42 of the removable front wall rather tightly engage the flange 26 of the jacket 14 to provide a secure and vibration-free connection of the front wall to the top of the jacket. Yet when the sheet metal screws 34 are withdrawn and the lower margin of the front wall is swung outwardly to clear the seat flange 30 of the jacket, the front wall may readily be withdrawn downwardly to release the jacket flange 26 from the slot between front wall flanges 38 and 42. Thereby a practical and ornamental and secure connection is provided which is almost instantly releasable and replaceable. The fact that the entire heater is suspended above floor level facilitates the downward manipulation of the front wall and its return to mounted position. In addition, the arrangement makes it easy to clean beneath the heater, which requires no legs of its own for support from the floor.

The heating element is not illustrated except diagrammatically by dotted lines at 44 in FIG. 3. The thermostatic control 46 is likewise illustrated only diagrammatically, it being understood that any desired arrangement can be used.

I claim:

1. A restaurant type heater comprising a tank having a control casing and an insulated jacket with removable front wall, the jacket being provided for cooperation with the front wall with a depending flange along its upper margin and with a seat extending transversely beneath said Wall, the front wall having means providing a slot releasably engaged with the depending flange and being supported upon the transversely extending seat.

2. A heater according to claim 1 in which the front wall has the form of a shallow pan having a top side provided with 9. depending flange abutting the outer surface of the depending flange of the jacket and further provided with a bracket projecting rearwardly and having an upwardy extending flange engaging the inner surface of the depending flange of the jacket, the space between the aforesaid flanges of the front wall providing the said slot in which the depending flange of the jacket is releasably engaged.

3. A heater according to claim 1 in which the jacket is provided along its sides and adjacent its top with oppositely projecting lateral flanges, in combination with a restaurant table havng complementary flanges providing a way in which the said lateral flanges of the jacket are disposed and from which the heater is suspended.

4. The combination with a restaurant table provided on its under surface with laterally spaced flanges opening toward each other, of a heater having a jacket provided with oppositely projecting lateral flanges respectively engaged with and supported on the flanges first mentioned, said heater comprising an insulated tank dis posed within the jacket and having a control casing requiring access at the front of the jacket, the jacket including a readily removable front wall, said jacket having a depending flange at the top and the front wall being provided with means providing a slot in which the de- 3 pending flange is releasably engaged, said jacket further including a wall-supporting seat extending transversely beneath the front Wall and from which the front Wall may be withdrawn forwardly, and means for detachably connecting the front wall with the seat.

5. The combination with a restaurant table provided on its under surface with laterally spaced flanges opening toward each other, of a heater having a jacket provided with oppositely projecting lateral flanges respectively engaged with and supported on the flanges first mentioned, the laterally spaced flanges providing a way extending from front to rear of said table and along which said UNITED STATES PATENTS 43 6,272 9/1890 Sweetland 312228 3,000,683 9/1961 MacNeary 108--14 FOREIGN PATENTS 706,140 6/ 1931 France.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A RESTAURANT TYPE HEATER COMPRISING A TANK HAVING A CONTROL CASING AND AN INSULATED JACKET WITH REMOVABLE FRONT WALL, THE JACKET BEING PROVIDED FOR COOPERATION WITH THE FRONT WALL WITH A DEPENDING FLANGE ALONG ITS UPPER MARGIN AND WITH A SEAT EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY BENEATH SAID WALL, THE FRONT WALL HAVING MEANS PROVIDING A SLOT RELEASABLY ENGAGED WITH THE DEPENDING FLANGE AND BEING SUPPORTED UPON THE TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING SEAT. 